Executive pay row is not about bank

The news in the Observer of 9 March about executive pay proposals at the Co-operative Group has dismayed many Save Our Bank supporters, who have been in touch to express their concern.

Save Our Bank has been pointing out to them that the news has nothing to do with the Co-operative Bank. The two organisations are quite separate now that 70% of the Co-operative Bank is owned by private investors.

So far as we know there are no proposals for big pay increases at the bank.

This is perhaps ironic given that The Co-operative Group is mutually owned and controlled, while the bank isn't.

Here at Save Our Bank, our focus remains on our objectives: how to keep the bank ethical and how to return it to majority co-operative control. We have been working on plans to do this by building up an independent co-operative stake. What role the Co-operative Group will or will not have in re-mutulaising the bank we shall have to see.

Save Our Bank supporters who are members of the Co-operative Group and who wish to campaign on the issue of creating a more open democracy at The Co-operative Group may like to visit Co-operative Springboard or express their view on haveyoursay.coop